Jays sign IKF.... 2/15 LOL... F U Wacko!

[saskjayfan]

I don't know why people hate this

 

All metrics say he is a plus defensive 3B

 

This is like Whit Merrifield with more defensive utility

 

Team can still upgrade and IKF can be a bench player

 

2/$15 is nothing. He's young.

 

Also maybe frees up Espinal for a trade?

 

It's not nothing. He's a garbage signing. We need offense. We're blocking offense from coming to the major leagues. Just bring up Martinez. None of you would have been happy running out Espinal at 3rd this year and he's put up more FWAR than IKF the last 3 years in half the ABs. This signing is beyond dogshit.

[Laika]

101 career wRC+ vs 81…

 

Yeah Whit was good when he was 31 and under

 

Last three years, and his entire Blue Jays tenure, much more like IKF.

[Laika]

Won a gold glove? Is that now a credible metric?

 

You could just look up the defensive metrics yourself

[Laika]

If that is the case, which I am not sure it is, I would have preferred Rosario.

 

Rosario probably has enough leverage based on age and prior hype to get a guaranteed starting role

[Laika]

Can we realistically expect any sort of value for Espinal? I sure hope Atkins has money to burn and this is just a raise the floor move for a couple more signings/trades.

 

Not much but throw in value perhaps

 

He might project for $3M or whatever in surplus value

[Cbert]

Not much but throw in value perhaps

 

He might project for $3M or whatever in surplus value

 

I think he has value to teams who may be sending us a good starting infielder. Him as a stopgap plus a Martinez/Barger type as part of a main prospect package going the other way. I’ve really wanted us to discuss some frameworks with the brewers for guys like yelich/adames and even Burnes. Figured some ML guys like espy, Kooch and Garcia would be part of packages going the other way along with prospects.

[BTS]

Bonus W: this signing didn't crash the forum

[Spanky99]

Bonus W: this signing didn't crash the forum

 

Spoke too soon. It'll go off and on all day.

[Laika]

I think he has value to teams who may be sending us a good starting infielder. Him as a stopgap plus a Martinez/Barger type as part of a main prospect package going the other way. I’ve really wanted us to discuss some frameworks with the brewers for guys like yelich/adames and even Burnes. Figured some ML guys like espy, Kooch and Garcia would be part of packages going the other way along with prospects.

 

Exactly. Could see him as a throw in for Adames. He has a bit of value for small market teams in particular

[saskjayfan]

Not sure what to tell ya, bro? He's an elite left side infielder, look it up.

 

We now have 4 players on the MLB club that can catch...

 

look up his offensive stats too. Dude can't hit during the year when he gets to face garbage number 5, 6 and 7 starters. You think he's going to hit in the playoffs against elite pitching? This team isn't being built to win in the playofffs. We need some f***ing offense.

[Spanky99]

look up his offensive stats too. Dude can't hit during the year when he gets to face garbage number 5, 6 and 7 starters. You think he's going to hit in the playoffs against elite pitching? This team isn't being built to win in the playofffs. We need some f***ing offense.

 

Chill dude... you don't want to trigger an aneurysm this early in the offseason.

[jaysblue]

As a bench option and depth for 3B, I don't mind it. Wish he came on a 1-year deal instead but oh well. IKF isn't going to block anyone at 3B. Jays could still bring in another 3B option via trade like Polanco or Adames or Moncada.

 

Espinal is likely gone now I suppose. No need for him.

 

Let's hope the next couple of moves the Jays make are for a big bat at DH like Hoskins or JDM.

[jaysblue]

IKF is pretty much a super utility guy who could play at any position. Heck he even caught in 2018 and 2019. As a versatile bench option, don't mind at all. As long as he isn't a full time starter. I still expect him to get around 250-300 PA most likely around the diamond all over though.

[glory]

Only way this makes sense is if the team plans to give the kids a chance to win the 3B job out of ST (Orelvis, Barger, Damiano), and IKF can be pushed aside if that happens. Otherwise I really don’t get it. I guess the other scenario is the Jays are going to trade an infielder and IKF takes that role but the only IF they could trade where IKF would be a suitable replacement is Espinal, and the Jays will get nothing back for him, and why would the Jays need to spend $15m to replace Espinal’s role to begin with?

[saskjayfan]

You could just look up the defensive metrics yourself

 

154 games at 3rd is not a large enough sample size to give me any level of confidence his D will overcome that gawd awful bat. Don't be shocked if he doesn't put up 20 OAA at 3rd next year.

[jaysblue]

look up his offensive stats too. Dude can't hit during the year when he gets to face garbage number 5, 6 and 7 starters. You think he's going to hit in the playoffs against elite pitching? This team isn't being built to win in the playofffs. We need some f***ing offense.

 

As long as he wasn't brought in as an everyday player, I have no issue with IKF. In reality he will start a couple games per week all over the diamond, but again mostly he was brought in as a depth guy and for his versatility.

[John_Havok]

154 games at 3rd is not a large enough sample size to give me any level of confidence his D will overcome that gawd awful bat. Don't be shocked if he doesn't put up 20 OAA at 3rd next year.

 

He likely won’t be a starter so he won’t get close to that anyways. He’s a backup

[saskjayfan]

IKF is pretty much a super utility guy who could play at any position. Heck he even caught in 2018 and 2019. As a versatile bench option, don't mind at all. As long as he isn't a full time starter. I still expect him to get around 250-300 PA most likely around the diamond all over though.

 

That's too much money for a guy who's only going to get 250 -300 PA a year. He'll likely get 500 to 550 PA next year and that's depressing.

[saskjayfan]

He likely won’t be a starter so he won’t get close to that anyways. He’s a backup

 

f*** me. If we've turned into the Yankees and are spending that level of money on back ups, can we start spending some big money on some real players.

[John_Havok]

f*** me. If we've turned into the Yankees and are spending that level of money on back ups, can we start spending some big money on some real players.

 

There was really only 1 “real player” on the market this offseason and he got the biggest contract in sports history.

 

I’m not a big fan of the remaining FA targets for anything other than DH so a trade or two is probably on the way

[Laika]

IKF won't be a starter or pure bench player. Somewhere in between probably. Same as KK.

[John_Havok]

IKF won't be a starter or pure bench player. Somewhere in between probably. Same as KK.

 

Probably a good way to look at it. Super utility guys that can come off the bench and cover virtually every position between them and pinch run when needed. ~400 PAs each

[saskjayfan]

IKF won't be a starter or pure bench player. Somewhere in between probably. Same as KK.

 

Why would the Jays start an inferior player in Varsho to KK. Oh wait, they think he's going to turn it around and hit..lol. Varsho sucks.

[Frenchsoup]

This is going to be a good day lol

[BTS]

Why would the Jays start an inferior player in Varsho to KK. Oh wait, they think he's going to turn it around and hit..lol. Varsho sucks.

 

It would be nice if histrionics over Moreno and Gurriel didn't render half the forum incapable of objectively evaluating Varsho, but here we are.

[hanton]

lol Atkins outbid other teams

[Laika]

Why would the Jays start an inferior player in Varsho to KK. Oh wait, they think he's going to turn it around and hit..lol. Varsho sucks.

 

I dunno.

 

Great post.

[G-Snarls]

Omfg my nightmare is happening

 

Hate this signing so much

 

1. He's not very good

2. He costs way more than Espinal or Biggio

3. Means less money and fewer positions for other upgrades

[G-Snarls]

Dumpster diving. Would have preferred to solve 3b via trade.

 

Same

 

Was desperately hoping for a big trade

[Sorrow]

It would be nice if histrionics over Moreno and Gurriel didn't render half the forum incapable of objectively evaluating Varsho, but here we are.

 

People really overvalue Moreno. They look at his BRef and thinks it good but the defensive numbers are broken similar to how Lawrie broke fWAR when he first came up. Look at WARP where Moreno was worth 0.3 WAR because of bad framing, receiving and D or fWAR where he was a similar catcher to Jansen for value and Jansen missed half the year with broken fingers.

 

Quite literally teams didn’t want Kirk because of his second half struggles and general build, Jansen they had health concerns with and Moreno they didn’t think the bat was going to come around enough to make up for the D. The original offer for Moreno was McCarthy or whatever his name is and that was it until the Jays added Gurriel.